Author's Note: The shortest chapter thus far but longer than my usual work, that's for sure. For once, I am actually introducing an OC that is not evil whatsoever, almost a first for me. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing

Warning: slight language

The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall

It was a beautiful day for walking and that was precisely what Duo was doing as he moved down the street.

The only thing that could have been better would be if he hadn't had a certain blond attached to him at the moment, following him around. Still, he couldn't complain; at least he had somebody willing to be in his presence. It was a more welcomed change than anything. But he couldn't take the silence; he was a social being and he needed to converse. The closest he had gotten with this guy was when he was complained about the Home Economics class.

He could have sworn then that this Solo was like an ordinary person.

But of course, he just had to go back to that "I'm too cool for this" attitude.

Well, just he wait. If there anybody who could not only command respect but wield it as well, it was Xihong Deng.

He was a relative of none other than Chang Wufei himself; how that was possible, he didn't quite know. He knew the man was Wufei's uncle, his mother's brother to be precise, but it didn't explain how their attitudes were so…different.

While Wufei was righteous and completely into himself, Deng was more friendly and tolerant of others. It was the respect he gave to others that seemed to make him the black sheep of his family, both his blood relatives and in-laws. It was as if the family had a genetic disposition of having a stick shoved up their asses.

Scratch the stick, it was the whole tree.

Not Deng though. He somehow managed to escape that fate.

And here they were. Duo smiled fondly just at the sight of the building. It was his home away from home, the one place, with the exception of Quatre's place, that he felt wanted and accepted.

Solo noticed the smile but said nothing about it, intent solely on watching it. There was something about it that he couldn't put his finger on but there was something, that was for sure. But what could it be?

Without further ado, the braided one led the way into the building, his smile widening as he caught sight of one particular person.

He wasn't the biggest person nor was he the most memorable. Though his hair was beginning to thin, it was still as black as it had been in his youth. His skin was a golden hue that one can only get from spending a lot of time outdoors it covered a well-built body that was used to exercise. He wore a simple white gi and black cloth belt, his feet bare as he padded down on the landing mats, setting up for his next class.

The man was none other than the owner and operator of the martial arts school, Xihong Deng.

Just the sight of this small man was enough to put a large glowing smile on the braided one. The small man just happened to look up towards the two teens and soon had his own small smile, his dark eyes glowing.

"So what do you have for me to do today?" Duo greeted, approaching the Asian man.

"Go get changed. Since you're here, I could use an assistant for today's afternoon lessons," the Chinese man answered. Glancing behind him, he noticed Duo's blond tagalong and he raised an inquiring eyebrow. "It seems you brought a guest with you today."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. This is the new guy at my school, Solo. He had nothing better to do and followed me here. He wants to know a bit about the facts of martial arts and such."

"Is that so?" Deng replied, taking a closer look at the blond teen.

Solo shifted his weight to his right leg uncomfortably as the dark eyes focused on him.

"Go change, lad," Deng said at last. "I'll have a few words with your new friend here."

"Sure," Duo said. "Go easy on him." With that said, Duo promptly left to enter the moderate changing room, leaving the martial arts master and the blond teen behind to spend some quality time together.

It didn't take him long to change into the standard gi and cloth belt. Secure in the knowledge that his stuff was safe in one of the lockers, he returned back to the main room just as the other students were coming in and heading for the locker room to change and get ready for their lessons. And what a good opportunity this was. He would be able to let out a little steam and let his mind get focused while he helped Deng out.

What could he say, it was a win-win situation.

---

There wasn't a lot that shocked Solo Winner. He had seen a lot in his young life and since he came from a rich family, he got to see more things than the average person would.

Yet, he would never have expected for Quatre's friend, Duo, to be able to break a cinder block with his head and stand there like nothing had happened.

He had heard from somewhere that if you hit your head hard enough, you killed brain cells. How many did that Kid kill? He seemed to be all right. And then there was that old man, the master of the place. What was he? He hadn't seen anybody move that graceful except for ballerinas.

He knew that for a fact, quite intimately.

He knew he could have left at anytime and gone home and yet he remained where he was, even after the kung-fu students or whatever they called themselves left and the braided kid was wiping down the floors and such.

Why was he still here? Maybe he wanted more of the kid's company or something? That was probably it. Or was it because he intrigued him? There was so much about him that remained a mystery and he wanted to find out what it was. Who actually used Home Ec. classes except for girls? And what was all this about earning extra spending money? He could probably understand if his parents were trying to shave off his allowance but he had yet to mention either of them. Someone always asked him about his parents then tell him about theirs. It was a repeating pattern that he had gotten used to.

But this guy, Duo, hadn't done any of that.

In fact, he was just treating him like an average Joe. No one had even done that before. It was kind of nice to tell the truth. The Kid wouldn't back down. That was a challenge, no matter how discreet. It was something he was determined to win.

That is, once he figured out what the challenge was.

Male pride, what could he say?

So he waited for him to get done first. He wasn't in any hurry. Why would he want to go back to his uncle's house anyway? However, those thoughts vanished at the sight of shock on Duo's face. He managed to keep a grin from coming out and focused on a looking bored. He hoped he was doing a good job at it.

"You done?" he drawled out as he continued to lean against the wall.

"Why are you still here?" Duo blurted out. "You didn't have to stay here the entire time! You could have left!"

"Didn't feel like it," he answered, enjoying Duo's surprise.

"Didn't feel like it?" Duo repeated before shrugging. "Your time. Do whatever the hell you want with it."

"Damn right," Solo agreed, keeping his eyes on the braided one as he left the building. Without a further glance back, he followed the brunet.

"And why are you following me?" Duo drawled as he continued to walk.

"Just curious," he answered.

"About what?"

"None of your business."

"Hmph!" Duo grumbled as stopped. "Well if it's none of my business, why don't you go on your jolly way home before I beat it out of you?"

"Ain't going to happen," Solo replied, coming to a stop as well. "I can do whatever the hell I please. It's a free country. Besides, you're too short to beat me up."

"Don't tempt me," Duo growled.

"Tempt you to do what?" Solo teased. "Hit me then fall in love with me? I know I'm sexy so it wouldn't take too much effort."

Okay, that was it. This guy was going down and this time, there was no one to save his ass. His movement was quick, his leg striking out like a snake. The next thing Solo knew, he was laying on the concrete sidewalk looking straight up at the evening sky, his chest throbbing, and a dirt imprint of a shoe on his shirt. Balancing on one leg, Duo lowered his outstretched one to the sidewalk.

"That," he spoke when Solo continued to lie on the ground. "I warned you, didn't I? Sleep on that for a while and maybe we can have a civilized conversation tomorrow. Now go get your pansy ass back to Quatre's."

Without another word, the braided one turned his back on the floored blond and continued on his trek home.

---

Quatre couldn't help but chuckle as he patched up his cousin.

Instead of coming through the front door, Solo had come in through the back and snuck up to Quatre's bedroom where he commanded him to fix him up. The blond at first would have refused until he saw the telltale sign of a shoe having impacted Solo's shirt and chest. Prying the story out of the other blond was another matter but he couldn't help but laugh at it.

It seemed Solo managed to irritate Duo enough to where his braided friend struck back, physically. Telling from how dirtied the other blond was, Duo must have floored him. It was no secret that Duo practiced martial arts, if only to keep the bullies away, but no one seemed to be enough interested in Duo's life to know that.

There he went again, worrying over his best friend again. But how could he not worry? Duo had spent most of his life alone, without anybody to care for him as much as he needed. He did not need to be socially outcasted by the rest of the school. It was just adding one more thing to Duo's plate and Quatre would be damned if he let his best friend fade away.

So whenever Duo actually beat somebody up, Quatre refrained from worrying over his victim since it was just a way for Duo to let go of some anger.

Who the hell were Duo's parents anyway? How dare they do this to their only child!

But he was digressing. The matter at hand was the ranting Solo who seemed pissed that he wasn't taking his side.

"And why the hell are you giggling like that?!" the blond demanded. Hey! He didn't giggle! Only girls did that!

"I'm not giggling," he defended. "I'm just…enjoying the fall of a mighty warrior, laid down by someone smaller than he is."

"Ha ha, just laugh it up," Solo grumbled.

"Why were you following him anyway?" Quatre asked, attempting to change the subject.

"I was curious."

"About what?"

"Where that Kid lives and all."

"No wonder he hit you," Quatre murmured.

"What? What do you mean by that?"

"He doesn't let anybody know where he lives," he explained. "I don't even know where he lives. He's never invited me and I only asked once to go. I've never asked again since it upset him."

"So you've never met his parents?"

"Nope."

"Huh."

"It's best if you don't bring it up," Quatre advised. "I think he's just trying to keep bullies from following him home or ambushing him when he goes to school."

Frowning, Solo replied, "I don't think that's it."

Hoping to move on to another topic since he was getting a little bit uncomfortable with where the conversation was headed, he asked, "So you going to stick with us tomorrow or go do your own things?"

That seemed to get the blond out of his musings and caused a smirk to form on his lips. "I think I'll stick around for a while. You know, get to know my cousin's friends a bit better."

Quatre was not dumb; he saw through the words. Solo was curious about Duo and he wanted to know more. Well, he wasn't going to stop him.

At least Duo would have some company for sometime.